“My parents like to joke, but they play zero games when it comes to me. Especially Mo.” I shooed her away from the truck. She walked backward to the house, keeping eye contact with Karter until he looked away to adjust his rearview mirror.

He pressed his lips into a line. “She doesn’t have to worry. Really.” He seemed concerned and I felt bad for him.

“Mo’s pretty harmless,” I said. “I think you’ll be okay.”

Karter handled the truck like it was trying get away from him, roughly pulling at the steering wheel to keep it in line. Every bump we hit made the cab shimmy and creak. It felt like there was nothing between me and the road, and if we hit a pothole it was gonna be over for my tailbone.

He glanced at me, his eyes kind. “Sorry. The truck is old.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “My spine might need to be realigned when we get out but it’s cool.”

He laughed and the tension eased.

“Sorry again about Mo. This is all new to us too so she’s feeling extra protective right now.”

“You call your mom Mo—mind if I ask why?”

“I mean, they’re both ‘mom,’ ” I said. “I call them both ‘mom’ depending on the situation, but Mo is short for Mom. It works for us.”

“That makes sense. I thought maybe it was her first name or something.”

“Yeah, no.” I laughed. “Call her by her first name? Never in my Black-ass life.”

“Got it,” said Karter, nodding. “So where are we going?”

“Can you take me to the hospital?”

He looked me over, his brow furrowed. “You good?”

“I’m fine, but there was this man—” I stopped short. I wasn’t sure how much to tell him. “There was a guy on the property earlier. He was hurt pretty badly, and I wanna check on him.”

Karter stared ahead as we drove. “Some random guy?”

“Yeah,” I said. “He got into something poisonous and we had to call an ambulance.”

He grimaced. “Wow, welcome to town, right? Weird guy in the woods on what, day two? The hospital’s not too far. I’ll take you if you think it’s a good idea.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not, but I wanna go.” That part was the whole truth.

A paper bag sat on the seat between us and Karter nudged it toward me. “I think there’s four or five in there.”

The field guides were in perfect shape, just like the ones he’d given me before. “You sure you don’t wanna sell these? I can pay you.”

“They’re just sitting on a shelf. Think of it as a housewarming gift.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Have you had a chance to look around?” Karter asked as he turned onto the main road.